Altruism among humans Essay Example for Free

Altruism among humans Essay This paper presents an examination of the phenomenon of altruism among humans. Altruism is defined as a behaviour that may be to ones advantage but is also to the advantage of others. The questions of why we behave this way or what motivates us to behave in this manner and the relevance to society today are the focus of this paper. Various research and theories has explained why altruistic behaviour is undertaken intentionally in the human world. Introduction We often read or hear about acts of generosity and courage, such as, fund raisers or concerts to  help homeless people, the fostering of a child and sponsoring his or her education, or of volunteers risking their lives to help victims in incidents like September 11 terrorist attack in the United States. We could have donated some money to orphanages or cared for a wounded dog. Such humane acts are defined by Psychologists as altruism (Moghaddam, 1998). Altruistic acts could be unselfish or done for personal gain or egoistic reasons. Indeed in a psychological paradigm, psychologists believe that true altruistic behaviour does not exist (Moghaddam, 1998). But how do we account for the behaviour of Mother Theresa or Mahatma Gandhi and many other unselfish acts of human endeavours? In order to explore this we have to understand the person variable and situational variable motivating the altruistic act (Simons, Kalichman Santrock, 1994). As we are aware behaviour is determined by personal and situational variables. A persons ability to empathise with the needy or to feel responsible for anothers welfare has great impact on altruistic behaviour. Situations influence the strength of the altruistic motivation. Reciprocity and exchange are important aspects of altruism (Simons, Kalichman Santrock, 1994). Humans give and receive from others everywhere. Reciprocity is the basic principle of every religion in the world for example, Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and Islam (Brosnahan, 2003). To act altruistically, requires consciousness and caring, and similarly, pet owners can often cite altruistic behaviour or at least conscious acts of kindness on the part of cats and dogs (Simons, Kalichman Santrock, 1994). Another good example would be the nursing,  profession founded on the notion of helping people, sometimes even at a cost to nurses themselves. There are many ways people show altruism. To explain why we do altruistic acts like volunteering, donating or raising funds, we need to distinguish between four different forms of altruism which are observed in humans that shown towards kin, a partner, a friend, and individual who does not fit into these categories (http://www. theunityofknowledge. org/the_evolution_of_altruism/introduction. htm, 2003) Of the several types of altruism a main focus has been on heroic altruism (Moghaddam, 1998). It is a short term intervention requiring physical action and tends to fit more the masculine gender. On the other hand Nurturant altruism requires more patience, listening and a caring attitude with long term involvement. This more closely fits the image of the traditional feminine gender (Moghaddam, 1998). The Bystander effect greatly influences helping behaviour, because of common ignorance of bystanders and assumptions about other bystanders actions. Each persons scope of responsibilities can decrease in the presence of others ( Moghaddam, 1998). In  order for Bystander to help he or she has to posses social skills to interpret the situation and take appropriate actions (Moghaddam, 1998). Initially from a theoretical perspective if a person knows how to overcome obstacles to he or she giving help, subsequently other people start questioning whether the helping behaviour was true altruism (Moghaddam, 1998). A later there was a theory of Daniel Batson empathy-altruism, believes that people help out of a genuine desire(Moghaddam, 1998). Other theories propose that altruistic behaviour is egoistic and put the hypothesis that helping behaviour is a way to  repair a helpers image (Moghaddam, 1998). Methodology An interview was conducted with a woman who volunteers her services with meals on wheels and has done nearly sixteen years. She is a retired school teacher living alone. I assumed that her altruistic behaviour had a self fulfilling motive. Therefore I chose her and I wanted to clarify or confirm my assumption. In order to facilitate my focus interviewee was given ten questions asking about her volunteering profile, and her motivating factors. This interview created awareness of other influencing factors motivating her altruistic behaviour.

Compare and contrast the music of the Medieval, Rennaissance, and Baroq

Music throughout the ages has changed dramatically. Starting in the Medieval period, from 400-1475, music was in the form of what is called the Gregorian chant. Instruments were very rarely used at this time. Since songs during this period were either troubadour or trouvere these chants had no real harmony. One example of this type of medieval composition is â€Å"Viderunt Omnes† by Leoninus. Like most Gregorian chants the texture of this piece is monophonic and polyphonic. â€Å"Viderunt Omnes† is a typical Gregorian chant in that it uses diatonic, not chromatic notes of the scale. Musical compositions during the Medieval period was made mostly by members of the church for the church. It was and is a very slow and steady movement that was meant to create a feeling of peace for worship purposes. As time passed and music continued to evolve what is known as the Renaissance period emerged from 1475-1600. Music during this period was still written with worship as its intentions. Where the Medieval period had no harmony the Renaissance period introduced the use of a constant chord to form the building block of the different pieces. A good example of this period of music is â€Å"Ave Maria† by Josquin written in 1485. The many different voices the repeat the same words create a process called imitation. This particular chant is capella, meaning that it is performed by voices alone and has no musical accompaniment and with all the voices entering at different times but in harmony counterpoint i...

Airline Industry

The absorbtion of a company is often a difficult task. Critical issues to consider, include organizational culture, technology, socio-culture, brand equity, and profitability of the firm. Organizational culture is the most important issue to consider when acquiring another company. While some cultures differ from others, that doesn’t necessarily make them weak cultures. Key questions to ask are; how well will the companies cultures mix with each other? If changes to either culture occur, what implications does this have on productivity and efficiency?Technology is and has been a key part of business and will continue to be. Technology increases productivity, efficiency, and in many times lowers the cost of making products. When looking to acquire another company one must compare the technology of that company to its industry. How much will a company have to invest in a company to get the technology updated and personnel trained on those machines? How much would the company gai n by implementing this new technology? Socio-cultural factors are a mindset of customers and they play a major role in whether or not a customer purchases a product and how much of it they will purchase.Grapefruit, for example, was a very popular item during the craze of the Hollywood Diet. Carbohydrates were in low demand when the Adkins Diet was trendy, and now it’s no transaturated fats that are becoming the next style of diet. Fast food companies had to change their menus to fit some of these trends due to their popularity! The lesson to take away from this is that a company needs to look into current as well as future trends that occur before making the decision to make an investment into an absorption.Brand equity is an essential part of acquiring a company. For example, a customer enters a pharmacy and sees both Tylenol and the generic brand of acetaminophen at the same price; the customer will most likely pick the Tylenol because it has proven itself to be a strong br and. The same can be said with companies in other industries. A company must research the customer’s perception of the products and service that the potentially acquired company offers in order to insure that they are making a good investment.Since the nature of business is to make profit, a shrewd to examination into the current profitability of the company being acquired as well as speculate future profitability is required. It’s also essential for a company to forecast the impacts that this merger will cause for their own company and determine if the results are desirable before the merger takes place. Part II. Barriers to entry—moderate: Sometimes a company will be able to enter the market but only for a short time; however this still causes competition and causes a reduction in fares.Part of what keeps barriers high are that airlines that are already in business there have planes already purchased as well as partnerships with other companies established. Th is leads to a potential entrant having diseconomies of scale. The two major things that deter customers from choosing a competitor are cost and past experience. These don’t contribute much to switching costs so when a new competitor enters the industry margins decrease even more. Since startup costs are so huge in the commercial airline industry, the threat of potential entrants is rather low.Rivalry among existing firms—high: Since JetBlue has entered the global market there are several more airlines worldwide that JetBlue has to compete with, as well as domestic and startup airlines to compete with. They must keep their prices/margins low not only to deter customers from other competitors but also to compete with close substitutes. There isn’t a firm that controls a large portion of the market so in turn companies receive low return due to competitive pricing structures. Finally there is very little differentiation in the airline industry.Services that JetBlue offers like free WiFi and XM radio are small things that help them differentiate their service for customers to buy. Threat of close substitutes—high: There are several substitutes to air travel, these being things like a car or a train. When going overseas there really isn’t a good substitute unless you are going on a cruise which in my opinion is an entirely different plan for travel. Sometimes if a group of people want to travel to the same place they will carpool for a cheaper rate, but this is getting less popular than it once was.In summary the shorter the distance, the more likely an airline is going to lose to close substitutes like a car or train. Bargaining power of suppliers—high: This is due to the fact that the suppliers are in an oligopoly. There isn’t much competition in the supplier market so those companies can keep their margins rather high. If a company decides to purchase a different brand of airliner then they would need to face trai ning and maintenance costs associated with buying that new brand. Now there are things like beer and peanuts, uniforms and the like.The airline industry has potentially high bargaining power against these suppliers but those items don’t affect the profit margin like equipment does. Bargaining power of buyers—low/moderate: The price of an airline ticket is set and doesn’t really change except over time through competition. Buyers get to use technology like the internet to compare prices of different competitors which lowers prices; however that only affects prices over time. Since there are many airlines to choose from as well as low switching costs buyers enjoy a moderate amount of bargaining power.However, with few exceptions like companies that use economies of scale to negotiate rates for you there is very little a buyer can do to bargain with an airline immediately. Overall competition in airline industry is very intense. There are several competitors in the airline industry, and since the industry is low growth competitors try to differentiate their service to get people to switch to them. In poor economic times people look for lower cost alternatives and airfare is no different—people will look for lower cost means of transportation. Airliners also face an overall moderate bargaining power which limits their profit margins. Airline industry This is considerably larger than some 620 countries, estimated similarly to the same size as Switzerland. (ATAG, 2012). It is orecast that by 2026, the industry will contribute $1 trillion to world GDP (ATAG, 2012). Despite the fact there is over 2000 airlines, each airline generally relies upon either one of the two-airline manufactures. These are Boeing or Airbus, both that are extremely wealthy companies. Boeing & Airbus are extremely competitive against each other and often have court disputes against each other.The most recent dispute was dated in May 2011, where both companies claimed victory after the World Trade Organisation overturned the ruling in which saw Airbus receive billions of Euros in illegal subsidies. BBC News, 2011). The US complained to the WTO as they thought the $18 billion subsidiary was deemed to 'cause serious prejudice' to US interests (BBC News, 2011). Growth Rate The Airline Industry woes are expected to continue, with humble profits produced mainly by l imiting capacity.Both Boeing & Airbus already have a backlog of orders due to carriers deferring their orders due to the poor growth in clientele and falling flight prices. (The Economist, 2012). Other factors that are damaging the threat of growth in the Airline industry are the threat of terrorism & increase in fuel prices. Are these factors putting people off? In 2009, there was an immediate decline in air travel by 30% (ehow) after the attack on the twin towers. The drastic decline maybe explained by the fact many feared there could be another terrorist attack in the nearby future.Rising fuel prices in 2012 are set to have an enormous impact on the industry and set to shrink profit margins awfully tight. The industrys global trade body nas warned that annual profits nave been cut by $500m (Financial Times). Due to the Increase in fuel prices, many airlines have decided to provide the A380 aircraft, hich carries roughly 500 people depending on the configuration. This has helped a chieve economies of scale for many companies. Market Share The Airline Industry is incredibly competitive and diverse globally so it is difficult to summarise market share of companies.However, because of this reason returns are usually lower than expected. This can result in difficultly at times of economic recession. The supply in airline industry is very limited and dominated by Boeing & Airbus, which means there is very little aggressive competition. It is very unlikely to ee a supplier vertically integrated. This means it is highly unlikely that Boeing or Airbus would start offering flight services. The bargaining power of airline companies is surprisingly very low.

Lambert Simnel as a Greater Threat to the Security of...

Lambert Simnel as a Greater Threat to the Security of Henry VII than Perkin Warbec After Bosworth, Henrys most immediate and perhaps greatest problem was ensuring that he kept the crown. from Henry VII by R. Turvey and C. Steinsberg. This was very true, as throughout Henrys reign he faced many threats because as King he wasnt established and therefore vulnerable to challenge. Also there were still Yorkists in power who wanted to claim the throne back from the usurper King and there was also strong foreign support for any potential threat towards Henry. A threat that Henry did face throughout most of his reign was the threat from Pretenders, and none came as more as threat than of Lambert†¦show more content†¦However, Warbeck was actually from Tournai in Flanders who was a personable, quite handsome and charming young man. Simnels and Warbecks claims to the throne were great threats to Henrys security, because of Henrys weak claim to the throne; therefore, it was possible for anyone to usurp his throne like he had done. Henry claim to the throne was weak as his claim only came from a female line, as he was a descendant of Henry Vs wife and the Beaufort family. But his victory at the Battle of Bosworth, enabled him as many would say to become a usurper King and Henry said he was given the throne as he has divine sanction. Both Simnel and Warbeck on their own didnt pose a great threat to Henrys security, but they did with the support they individually gained. Compared to Warbeck, Simnel internally posed a greater threat to Henrys security due to the internal support that Simnel had. Unlike Warbeck, Simnel had the support of a great noble power supporting him, and that was John de La Pole, Earl of Lincoln, who was heir to Richard III. As the heir to Richard III, John de la Pole was a major potential threat to Henry VIII. But the greater threat that John de la Pole posed and the impact of his support was that it enabled Simnel to link his internal support and foreign support (therefore, linking internal and external threat), because of John de la Pole being the nephew of

Summary Of The Bible Genesis Revelation - 2099 Words

Summary of the Bible: Genesis to Revelations The Bible contains sixty-six books, written by approximately forty authors, over the course of two thousand years. God created and loves humans despite their rebellious attitude towards Him, and God wants to reunite humans to Himself (Poythress, 2008). The Bible is a record of the sinful rebellion of humans and it still declares God’s love for humanity through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. This foundation prepares the way for Jesus Christ to fulfill God’s entire promised covenants. Creation, Rebellion, and Fall - (4004-2234 BC) In six days God created the universe, the earth, and every living thing on it. This includes human beings, who were made in Gods own image. God created Adam and Eve to have an unobstructed relationship with him, He placed them in a paradise called the Garden of Eden and gave them freedom to live in friendship and trust with him. God saw that everything he created was good and He rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2). God left Adam and Eve in the garden with specific instructions: they are NOT to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, they rebel and sin enters the world after a serpent tricks Eve into questioning God’s love and motives. In her gullible innocence, she ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3). Eve shared the fruit with Adam and they spiritually and physically die. This was catastrophic to Gods Order and led to the condemnation of all humanShow MoreRelatedChristianity And The Nature Of God1420 Words   |  6 Pagesthis pers on ought to explain how God reveals Godself, especially through the Biblical text, but also potentially through creation. God revealing Godself through the God’s Word is also known as Special Revelation; whereas, God revealing God’s personality through creation is known as General Revelation or Natural Theology. First and foremost, there is a significant debate concerning the possibility of Natural Theology. Emil Bruner and Karl Barth famously debated this in the 1930’s as Barth argued thatRead MoreExploring God s Plan For Life On Earth1569 Words   |  7 Pagesassignment was to review a book from the list in the Syllabus. The book I chose was listed as having been published by Kregel Academic in 2008. The version I obtained was published by Inter-Varsity Press and purchased as an electronic book via Logos Bible Study. The chapter headings and subsections are all the same, so it is my hope that the rest is as well. There may be some variations in content or str ucture from the other that I am not aware of. The subtitle is different: Exploring God’s Plan forRead MoreThemes from Genesis 1-111238 Words   |  5 PagesLEGAL CATEGORIES. 1. Introduction. The Pentateuch consists of the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; called Torah in Hebrew. The term Pentateuch is from the Greek for Penta (five) teuchos (books). Both Jewish and Christian traditions view these five books as a single unit, forming the backbone of the rest of the Bible. Both traditions place the Pentateuch first in the divisions of the Old Testament (Law, Prophets, and Writings)Read MoreHow Scripture Is The Word Of God1144 Words   |  5 PagesScripture is the word of God that is revealed to us through revelation. (Revelation 5 Summary). We are to govern our lives and be examples to others of what a true Christ follower by the scriptures. The Holy Spirit touched the hearts of the authors while God breathed into them. The authority of scripture is based on all scripture being God-breathed. Therefore, as we discussed the different views of inspiration of scripture, I preferred the view of verbal plenary inspiration. According to EricksonRead MoreMs Paul2146 Words   |  9 PagesBible Among the Myths Malcom College English 093 Ms. Smith 01/23/2012 Introduction The book is an analysis of the Biblical view of the world and compares it other works in the Ancient Near East of that time with the development of the Bible. This is done by an in-depth analysis of the underlying beliefs inherent in mythology and the Biblical text. Of primary significance is the authors portrayal of the Biblical insistence on monotheism and divine transcendence compared to the polytheisticRead MoreA Book About The Creation Of The World875 Words   |  4 Pagesold. I have started to tell her some Bible stories and I also wanted to share them with you. The story I will be writing about is the story about the creation of the world. I encourage you to read this story in Genesis 1. I wanted to share some insights that I recieved from going through this passage in the Bible. I read this passage in my Bible and then I tried to summarize it the best I could to tell it to Ruth. This is my summary: ---- When I was reading Genesis 1 slowly and thinking about it, IRead MoreA Summary On Charismatic Faith And Ministry1693 Words   |  7 PagesSummary of Charismatic Faith and Ministry Charismatic Faith and Ministry is a comprehensive book of Charismatic Systematic Theology. The first three quarters of the book were a brief dissection of systematic theology, much of what we have studied in other classes, but in a more condensed form. The belief system expressed by Dr. Daniel Thimell was no great departure from most conservative, reformed, evangelical orthodoxy except for the addition of the Charismatic. I believe the real meat of the bookRead MoreThe Counsel Of Heaven On Earth Essay1596 Words   |  7 Pagesor techniques. [His] intention is to show how the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, provides counselors with the blueprint for developing an effective counseling ministry†. Jones sticks to his promise and frames his book around Scripture. In this review of The Counsel of Heaven on Earth, a brief summary will be outlined, as well as some strengths, limitations, and applicability of the book to Christian ministry and Christian counseling. SUMMARY Jones begins his book by giving the baseline foundationsRead MoreIntegrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity 4-Mat Review 1254 Words   |  6 PagesSummary In the book Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity by David Entwistle compares and contrasts the secular view of Psychology and the biblical view of Psychology. Entwistle delves into the question is psychology and Christianity mutually compatibility. The Integrative Approaches, Entwistle communicates to us there is two human behavior perspectives which relate to each other. According to Entwistle (2010), In order to intertwine psychology and Christianity it is required toRead MoreEssay about Isaiah1197 Words   |  5 Pagesform the heart of our study here† (10). Through this book Kaiser wants his reader to understand the correlation or the connecting point between the Old Testament and New Testament pertaining to missions. Kaiser wants the reader to understand that Genesis is the beginning for the call of missions, not the New Testament. He yearns for the reader to reflect on what he has to say and not only share his burden, but act on it. Kaiser’s main purpose and focus is to fully define, expound, and elucidate the

Ordinal Position and Substance Abuse Literature Review

Ordinal position and substance abuse: Literature review The idea that birth order affects personality is not a new one in psychological literature. The assumption that birth order and character are interrelated has become part of the common assumptions therapists bring to their relationships with clients. For example, one study of 308 clinicians found that upon offering the same profile of a prototypical client, with only the birth order changed in the profile, once the client was viewed as exemplifying a particular birth order, clinicians prognostic ratings differed according to the clients birth order (Alan 2004). The deep and abiding nature of the conviction that birth order inexorably affects ones development dates back to Alfred Adler, who was one of the first theorists to classify human personality into types based upon birth order. In terms of Adlerian typology, the firstborn child is frequently depicted as a leader and dominant personality who adheres to rules and established protocol, as one who enjoys structure and is more responsible (Alan 2004). They are also thought to achieve greater academic and professional success and to have higher self-esteem. Parents tend to have higher expectations of the older child than they do of younger siblings. These expectations are often accompanied by investment of more parental time and attention in socializing the firstborn (Kulik 2004). According to Adler, some firstborn children never recover from theShow MoreRelatedCriminal Behavior Conditioning3515 Words   |  15 PagesLochman, Coie, Greenberg, 2004; Lochman Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 1995). But an important factor to note, is that they begin to parallel influence/cause during his/her adolescent years of delinquency. It is not enough to simply review statistics or parental accounts because it ma y confuse anyone trying to identify the two types of offenders (Moffitt, Caspi, Dickson, Silva, Stanton, 1996). Since Dr. Moffitt first standardized her developmental theory, she also brought forthRead MoreInformation Technology Implementation Issues: an Analysis45771 Words   |  184 Pages.................................................. page(s) 1-15 †¢ Research Questions †¢ Problem Statement †¢ Purpose of Study †¢ Description of Issues †¢ Significance of Study Chapter 2: Literature Review....................................................... page(s) 16-51 Section I †¢ General Background Literature Management Information Systems MIS in the Public Sector Information Technologies and Local Government Section II †¢ Planning and Information Technology †¢ Procurement and Information TechnologyRead MoreAnnotated Bibliography: Plagiarism39529 Words   |  158 Pagesin journals like BJET. It is essential that we distinguish between the work that has been carried out by others and the work and the writing that is due to our original efforts. Most research projects will start with a comprehensive study of the literature to determine what has been found in the past, and it is that foundation that will inform the subsequent work. It is quite likely that, in order to make the argument for the paper, you will need to quote from the work of others. However, you mustRead MoreOperational Risk Management50825 Words   |  204 Pagesoperational risk and, for example, does not include fraud, model or serial risks (legal risk). The risk that debtors are unable to meet their obligations or that their credit rating deteriorates. The risk that adverse market movements reduce the value of positions held. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, A New Capital Adequacy Framework: Consultative Document, 1999 (â€Å"CP 1†). 8 1 Causes and Definition of Operational Risk In January 2001, the Basel Committee narrowed down these other risks8 byRead MoreAn Impact Assessment of Science and Technology Policy on National Development of Nigeria61708 Words   |  247 Pagesindustrialization and development. It is in recognition of these observations that the study attempted to assess the impact of science and technology policy on national development of Nigeria. To carry out the assessment study, extensive literature review was carried out which formed the background knowledge to the study as well as provided the necessary input to the discussion of the findings from the study. The data generated from interviews and questionnaires were analyzed using quantitative

Pragmatics Deixis and Conversational Implicature Essay Example For Students

Pragmatics Deixis and Conversational Implicature Essay 1.1 The concept of deictic centreDeixis deals with the words and expressions whose reference relies entirely on the circumstances of the utterance. For that reason these special expressions and their meaning in discourse can only be understood in light of these circumstances. The term deictic centre underlines that the deictic term has to relate to the situation exactly at the point where the utterance is made or the text is written. One could even say that the deictic centre is the unmarked anchorage point from which the utterance is made. To decode the meaning of a sentence we use a navigation system. In our day-to-day conversational exchanges, the speaker does not consciously use deictic expressions, as well as the adressee usually understands the utterance immediately (meaning that the adressee does not need much time to think about an utterance before understanding the message). Deixis makes discourse easier and more effective, giving us a means to pass more information in less time. Nevertheless, there are certain situations making an interpretation difficult or even impossible, mostly when we only get chunks of information and therefore lack context. If, for example, a person tells a story and forgets to give the essential information a deictic term refers to, we will grow aware of the weakness the deictic system features. Or if the fax machine just receives the second page of a letter, beginning with Then he was quite embarrassed about it the adressee will never be able to guess what then, he and it stands for. Similar gaps arise if we read about an utterance made in the p ast and lack information about the references. Although the adressee at that time could easily have understood the sense, we may not be capable of getting the original meaning. Even if we knew the context in detail, this might not be sufficient to understand discourse, for example if a special gesture is made when pointing at a building while saying: I lived there two years ago. 1.2 Linguistic categoriesThe Greek origin of the term deixis meaning pointing via language already hints at its function. According to Yule (1996:9), Deixis is clearly a form of referring that is tied to the speakers context. This again leads us to the concept of deictic centre. The deictic centre can be divided into certain sub-centres. 1. Central person (speaker): Personal pronouns, I (Speaker), you (Addresse)2. Central time (coding time): Adverbs of time, now and then3. Central place (the location of the speaker): Adverbs of space, here and there 4. Discourse centre (the point of the speakers discourse): Adverbs of time and place, conjunctions5. Social centre (the speakers social status relative to the Adressees) Next we can distinguish between proximal terms (like here, now, this near to the speaker) and distal terms (like there, then, that away from the speaker). It is important to note that in context of deixis and grammar, when direct speech is shifted into indirect speech, the proximal forms also shift into the corresponding distal forms. Compare the two following sentences:You were here this morning?I asked him whether he had been there that morning. In contrast to the effect of immediateness proximal deictic forms create, the reported speech utterance normally makes the original speech event seem more remote. In the following section, I shall discuss some forms of deixis in detail. Person deixisThese seemingly simple forms are sometimes quite tricky in their use. Children often have problems using personal pronouns. The three pronouns from first to third person I, you and he, she, it are in many languages elaborated with markers of relative social status (social deixis). Expressions indicating a higher social status are called honorifics. In German or French, there is a special social aspect about a familiar form of you (Du/tu) and an unfamiliar one (Sie/Vous). The use of either one form gives us information about the speakers view of his relationship to the addressee. Third person terms are usually more distant terms. Today they sometimes may serve ironic purposes ( Should I clean the dishes for her majesty?), and they can also be used to make a potentially personal issue seem like an impersonal one, e.g. if I want someone to do me a favour. Spatial deixis Spatial deictic terms indicate the relative location of people and things (here, there). Interesting about the use is the aspect of deictic projection: Speakers often refer to physically distant locations like home using here, as if they still were in that location. Moreover, modern technology allows us to utter seemingly impossible sentences like I am not here at the moment on an answering machine. Yet another shift takes place when I tell a story quoting direct speech, as here or there have to be understood relative to the place my story takes place. Temporal deixis Now is indicating both the time coinciding with the speakers utterance and the time of the addressee hearing these words. Then may either refer to past and future actions relative to the moment where it is uttered (deictic centre). Deictic expressions like yesterday, tomorrow, today, next week etc. have to be separated from non-deictical temporal references such as local time. Showing similarities to the notion of spatial deixis, the remote form in temporal deixis can be used to communicate not only distance from current time, but also distance from current reality or facts. 1.3. May we come in, sir?We refers to a group of at least two persons that the speaker belongs to. In this case the exclusive we (addressee does not belong to group) should be suggested more likely (Person deixis). Sir implies that the addressee has at least the same social status as the speaker or probably even a higher status relative to the group (Social deixis). The action of coming in involves a certain place, or, to be more precise, two places (Spatial deixis): One where the speaker is situated at the moment of his utterance, and one where he requests to go. As this sentence seems typical of our everyday life politeness, it is not very difficult to find a situation where it could have been uttered, e.g. a group of pupils visiting their teacher at his home. 2 Introduction: The notion of implicature How is it that we can convey meanings which we do not actually state? To solve this problem which we are not aware of as a problem in our day-to-day conversational exchanges pragmatics uses the notion of implicature. The concept of implicature is so salient because it explains how it is possible to mean more than what is actually said by the single words. Implicature bridges the gap between what is literally said and what is meant, suggested, what is implied. By contrast, a semantic theory is based on the belief that natural language expressions tend to have simple, stable and unitary senses so that consequently, a semantic theory will never be able to give full account of how we use language in our conversations (cf. Levinson 1983: 99). Specal Ed Observation EssayBefore providing some examples, there is another basic remark on implicatures I must mention, namely that they do not inevitably have to be conversational implicatures. Defining the term implicature more precisely, one can distinguish conversational implicature from conventional implicature. Conventional implicatures arise from expressions which, taken by themselves, implicate certain states of the world that cannot be attributed to our use of language. They are not derived from pragmatic principles like the maxims, but are simply attached by convention to particular lexical items or expressions. ExamplesA: Why do you want to leave the company?B: Because I know that our situation soon will be devastating.If B wants to observe the quality maxim, he must not only be convinced about his utterance being true, but also know that there is clear proof of what he is claiming. If he lacks adequate evidence, he better should mark this by using a cautious note (hedg es) I dont know or sure, but. A: How do we get those seven persons back there?B: I own one old car. Observing the quantity maxim, this also means that B does not have more than one car. A: I wont describe every single minute, but it was a great game.A shows that he is conscious of the quantity maxim, making use of hedges. A: Can you tell me how to get to the university?B: There is a petrol station just some hundred metres away.B does not know where the university is located. Still, he observes the maxim of relevance by giving a hint where the driver could get better information. A: I know this sounds a little obscure, but I did not notice you at all.Presupposing that A did not recognize a good friend, A still tries to show that he is trying to observe the maxims. A: Did I call you too early?B: Oh, I love getting up at six in the morningBy blatantly flouting the first maxim, B implies that his utterance has to be interpreted in quite a different way (and furthermore, that his question was quite unnecessary). A: Seems they are going to lose this match.B: Dont forget about our goalie. Hes top of the league.Everybody knows that the goalkeeper is not very skilled, thus B obviously flouts the maxim of quality, hinting at a sarcastic meaning. A: You still use this car, honestly?B: Well, its got four wheels and a steering wheel.In this case, B is flouting the maxim of quantity, of manner and even of relevance, as he says something A already knows before B answers his question (giving more information than necessary), being neither brief nor he avoiding obscurity, and not responding directly to As question. One could translate Bs utterance into: Dont make such a fuss, the car is in a good condition.A: Can you tell us about your teams line-up next Sunday?B: Sure. There will be eleven players.The coach is flouting the maxim of quantity, giving less information than required. He is tired of the journalists always asking the same questions that he must not answer. A: Did I tell you, Graham Potter finally got this job in Glasgow?B: The lobster is delicious, darling.Flouting the maxim of relevance, B tells her husband that she definitely does not want to talk about his job or his colleagues. A: And then, after all we have been through, he did not notice me at allB: Oops, right at the back there is a spot on your dressAgain flouting the maxim of relevance, B possibly warns her girlfriend that the guy she has been talking about is approaching. A: I could invite you for dinner tomorrow.B: Your girlfriend is doing well, is she?Flouting the third maxim, B reminds her admirer that he should be faithful. A: Rumour has it that you had an affair with this woman.B: I do not claim that this question is unjustified.B is flouting the maxim of manner, thus indicating that there was an affair, but he does not dare to admit things. A: Tell me about your last match!B: It came quite close to playing tennisB played his worst tennis and uses a flouting of the last maxim to indicate this. 2.3 The process of flouting in detailIn this section I shall take a closer look at one of my examples, making explicit the types of knowledge required for the implicatures to be worked out. A: Oops, did I call you too early?B: Oh, I love getting up at six in the morningThis flout exploits the maxim of quality as the speaker says something which is blatantly untrue. Assuming cooperation, the listener is forced to look for another plausible interpretation. His line of thought (as well as the speakers codification process shortly before uttering his sentence) might work like this:1. B has expressed pleasure at being disturbed early in the morning (utterance X)2. But normally people in our society do not like this. 3. So why is B uttering X?4. I cannot assume that B is violating the cooperative principle, namely he tries to deceive me. 5. I also do not think that Bs sentence is entirely pointless. 6. As 3 and 4 are not true, B must be trying to put across some other proposition7. Is there a related meaning Bs utterance hints at?8. In this case, the only obviously related proposition is the exact opposite of the one B has expressed. 9. Therefore the only plausible explanation is that B is quite annoyed at me calling this early. 10. I will accept this meaning unless context hints at a more persuasive interpretation3 ReferencesGrice, H. Paul. 1975. Logic and conversation. In: Cole, P. and J. Morgan (eds.). Pragmatics. (Syntax and Semantics 9). New York: Academic Press, 41-58Levinson, Stephen. 1983. Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge UPMey, Jacob. 1993. Pragmatics: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell. Thomas, Jenny. 1995. Meaning and Interaction. An Introduction to Pragmatics. London:Longman. Yule, George. 1996. Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford UP